Tonight’s BBC One Panorama, Tabloid Hacks Exposed, promises to shed more light on this story – and about tabloid links with Southern Investigations, the agency which both Morgan and Rees worked for, and which Rees continued to run.

“In common with other newspapers and broadcasters the News of the World receives tip-offs and information from a wide variety of sources. We note for example that Jonathan Rees claims to have also worked for the BBC.

“To date, Panorama has provided us with no evidence of wrong doing in relation to the private detectives featured in your programme.

“Moreover, the Crown Prosecution Service found no evidence that the reporters involved were aware those sources were acquiring material by corrupt means.

“Unlike some of our critics, the News of the World secures proof of wrongdoing before making serious allegations.”

In a statement sent to Press Gazette, the News of the World said:

“These are serious allegations but to date, despite repeated requests, Panorama has provided us with no evidence to support these claims, which relate to a former member of the News of the World staff who left in 2006.

“If Panorama has evidence that illegal acts were actually commissioned by this newspaper then we urge them to supply this information so we can properly investigate it. As recent events show we will not tolerate misconduct by staff. We were also disappointed to see they have made a basic error of fact in their pre-publicity for the programme.“